Rohingya refugees are a threat to national security, Centre tells Supreme Court

Alma Romero |Sunday, September 17, 2017

Rohingyas are threat to national security, can't stay as illegal refugees: Govt to Supreme Court

United Nations agencies say an estimated 409,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since August 25, when deadly attacks by a Rohingya insurgent group on police posts prompted Myanmar's military to launch "clearance operations" in Rakhine state.

Myanmar insisted on Friday that it was not barring aid workers but a government spokesman said the authorities on the ground might have concerns over security.

The government said that that Rohingyas are threat to national security and hence it warrants deportation of them from India. Almost 15,000 have received refugee documentation, according to the United Nations, but India wants to deport them all.

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre would file an affidavit on the matter of deportation of Rohingya Muslims in Supreme Court on September 18.

Mr Kunal said that human rights bodies had also condemned Myanmarese government on several occasions for persecution of Rohingya Muslims in the country. "We want to ask the Prime Minister, under which law you will send them back, which law?" he asked.

The MIM leader said that according to official figures, 16,000 refugees from Myanmar were in India, of which 3,500 were in Hyderabad.

Dhaka: India will send a consignment of humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh tomorrow for Rohingya Muslims, days after Dhaka briefed New Delhi about the problems faced by it due to the influx of refugees from Myanmar following the ethnic violence in the Buddhist-majority nation.

However, the "draft affidavit", which reached the media, was signed by a Deputy Secretary, Foreigners Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to unofficial estimates, there are almost 40,000 Rohingyas in India, largely located in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.

"We do support the United Nations appeal to help the Rohingya people", Banerjee said, appealing for helping the Rohingyas. The Supreme Court has fixed 18 Sep as the date for the hearing of the plea and the Home Minister said it will file the affidavit on 18 Sep. "Therefore, it is essential to identify them and keep a watch on their activities for preventing any untoward incident that can take place". Myanmar has insisted that Rohingya insurgents and fleeing villagers themselves are destroying their villages.